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Tease Marketing - ScentTrail Marketing

Tease Marketing - ScentTrail Marketing | Must Design | Scoop.it
Tease marketing because in overwhelming times marketing needs to underwhelm, tease and inspire customers to find their truth and yours. Tease the click.
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Haiku Deck Zuru Sure to ROCK Content Marketing & Design

Haiku Deck Zuru Sure to ROCK Content Marketing & Design | Must Design | Scoop.it

Haiku Deck Zuru uses the power of artificial intelligence to transform your ideas into polished presentations. Become a charter member to get 6 months free.

Marty Note
Haiku Deck is one of my favorite visual marketing tools. Our 41 "decks" have generated more than 100,000 views. We got the idea about slides being a new marketing channel by working with this magic wand of a tool.

Now they've got something new up their sleeve and the entry fee is a whopping $30 bucks (lol). Let's see, 100K views for $30 bucks, we signed up today and suggest you do the same. Whenever their new tool comes out of beta we know it will be worth many multiples of $30 bucks :). M

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Funk Up Your Web Design: Find Your Site's VOICE

Funk Up Your Web Design: Find Your Site's VOICE | Must Design | Scoop.it

Marty Note
Watching the excellent HBO Documentary about James Brown Mr. Dynamite made me think of FUNK and web design. Web design is easy to get WRONG (lol).

It is tricky to design online with a sense of surprise, beauty and novelty. I like the Digital Invaders design as it feels free and spontaneous. Other designs such as Monster CSS and Creative With A K feel like they are trying to appear spontaneous and free.

Trying too hard is EASY in web design too. Remember all websites are STAGES we designers SET. The trick is to set a stage that feels like it is happening now and won't feel dated tomorrow. Feels like there are enough visual hooks in Digital Invaders it would be easy to keep it fresh with minimum fuss.

I like Emigre too. Emigre creates the same sense of happening now but that design is at the other end of the spectrum from Digital Invaders. Its hard to beat the grid. First website I created, in 1999, used a Mondrian grid.

Grids help organize massive amounts of information without that mountain feeling like it is about to crush you. I like the funky NOISE contrasted to the quiet grid because they demonstrate the need to find a visual VOICE in your web design. That voice can be anything as long as it feels authentic TO YOU.

The web is very good at finding and amplifying DISSONANCE. When you try to FUNK IT UP and aren't really funky it shows like you are wearing the wrong decades fashion (painful). Your customers are your audience.Set the stage anyway you want, but do so with an eye toward YOUR TRUTH.

The closer you stay on the tiny beam of "authentically us" the more success your web design has. This is why there are no web design maxims that apply all the time. What works for Emigre is very different than Digital Invaders but both work, both are authentic and have that hard to describe but know it when you see it TRUTH great web design must have.

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Conversations Scroll Visually: 3 HOT Web Design Trends:

Conversations Scroll Visually: 3 HOT Web Design Trends: | Must Design | Scoop.it

Check out the hottest web UI patterns used by Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Kickstarter, AirBnB, Tinder, and more.

Marty Note
This is a great web design scope full of examples and lots of good suggestions. At Curagami we are devoted to the conversations as The Next Ecom idea. Love the suggestion about conversational tone in forms.

Forms SUCK, but that doesn't mean you can ask for things in a MORE INTIMATE way than standard boring routine. The visual organization riff is evidence of a much larger tectonic shift - visual marketing is ruling the world.

Visual Marketing in a nutshell is...

1. GRAB attention with an arresting visual.
2. Tease a read with a great headline.
3. Snipit-ize your content so it daisy chains a series of "play list" like cliff hangers.
4. Move visitors to subscribers and buyers.

5. Create an ASK (such as Join our Ambassador Group).

6. Rinse and Repeat.







Via Jakarta Web Developer
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

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"Had Script, Needed WARRIORS" - 30 Lessons In Creativity via Jodorowsky's Dune

Greatest Film Never Made
"What is he purpose of life," the director Jodorowsky asks in this must view documentary film for any creative, "to create a soul". The amazing creativity and vision of El Topo's director is shared in a series of linked stories.

Much like any creative's mind, this film flies between the surreal, heroic, mystical and crazy. Stories about Orson Wells and Pink Floyd are rich in "sounds true" detail, but pales in comparison to the "I can't type that fast" advice shared.

Advice such as:

* Be all in.
* Be a prophet.

* When it comes to missions THINK BIG (something important for humanity).
* Start with clear ideas, but find and respect "light of genius".
* Challenge people to find their best.
* Give Morning Motivation speeches.
* Your VISION should become OUR IDEA.
* OUR Ideas become art.
* When you think you are looking at a rock its an object & vice versa.
* Lucky enough to meet a prophet FOLLOW HIM.
* Be supportive of others.

* Transport people. MOVE THEM.
* Look for and work with WARRIORS (life is too short for anything else).
* Imagine and then imagine again.
* No such thing as "too far".
* Let the work rule.
* One man's obsession is another man's art.
* MOTIVATE others.

* If you can Seduce Salvador Dali DO SO.
* Create enigmas.
* If chance puts Dali at your hotel, send him a strange note.
* When you find a clock in the sand discover who lost it.
* Create MOVEMENTS and ART with your life.
* If Dali asks you for a helicopter, GIVE IT TO HIM.
* Dali gets you Giger, Giger gets you Magma (and so on).
* If you can get a meeting with Mich Jagger, TAKE IT.
* If Andy Warhol invites to the FACTORY, go there.
* Plan everything, Plan Nothing (chance).
* When you see Orson Wells in a Paris restaurant, send wine.
* Live a EULOGY Life not a Resume Life.


That last bullet picks up on a great David Brooks TED Talk I wrote about on LinkedIn yesterday: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140717125545-13925622-are-you-living-a-resume-or-a-eulogy-life 


Hope you are living a Eulogy Life. Jodorowsky sure did. I had to be shoved kicking and screaming on the Eulogy train by the Big C. Glad I got on this train even if it turns out to be the last train from Clarksville :). M

Are you a "plural being"?



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10 Reasons Visual Content Dominates 2014 - The Wishpond Blog

10 Reasons Visual Content Dominates 2014 - The Wishpond Blog | Must Design | Scoop.it

10 Reasons Visual Content will Dominate 2014 What marketing strategies will we focus on in 2014? What will we leave behind? This article takes a look at the rise of visual content - and why 2014 will dominate in 2014:

1. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text.

2. Videos on landing pages increase average page conversion rates by 86%.

3. Visual content is social-media-ready and social-media-friendly. It’s easily sharable and easily palatable.

4. Businesses who market with infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t.

5. Posts with visuals receive 94% more page visits and engagement than those without.

6. 60% of consumers are more likely to click on a business whose images appear in search results.

7. Clear, detailed images carry more weight than product information or customer ratings say 67% of consumers.

8. Visuals show your products without telling people about them. This allows viewers to make their own decisions without feeling pressure from your business.

9. Visuals express ideas quickly - in a snapshot. This breaks through the overwhelming clutter of online content.

10. Visuals are becoming easier and easier to create as photo editing tools become more accessible

 

Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

I can think of a few more reasons visual marketing will dominate in 2014 including:

* Visuals are cross-cultural and global (don't have to speak english to understand visuals)..

* Mobile LOVES visuals and everything is going mobile 

* Visual marketing is more viral, more "shareable". 
*  Visual marketing is more fun. 

Wow, this post is  sparking a lot of great conversations including one on G+ about images and real estate thanks to Janis Bourgeuta: https://plus.google.com/102639884404823294558/posts/LhoaHP8ChnJ 


And this comment from Monida on Scoop.it:

Grat Monica S Mcfeeters Comment:

This is one of the best reasons for art education. A visually or media illiterate citizen or consumer is very apt to be manipulated or make unwise choices.

From Wikipedia:

 Visual literacy includes in addition the ability to understand visual forms of communication such as body language, pictures, maps, and video.Evolving definitions of literacy often include all the symbol systems relevant to a particular community. Literacy encompasses a complex set of abilities to understand and use the dominant symbol systems of a culture for personal and community development. In a technological society, the concept of literacy is expanding to include the media and electronic text, in addition to reading and writing.

 

Lynn Pineda's curator insight, March 14, 2014 11:25 PM

All I can say, is thank goodness for Visuals in content!  I've always been a visual person being a visual learner. Information is easier to retain and comprehend when visuals are employed as it pulls you in.


The article's statistics further supports the importance of visuals. I love visuals!

mjboyce's curator insight, March 15, 2014 1:17 PM

see?

Carlos Bisbal's curator insight, March 16, 2014 10:15 AM

10 Razones por las que los contenidos visuales dominarán el 2014

 

¿En qué estrategias de marketing nos vamos a centrar en el 2014? ¿Qué vamos a dejar atrás?

 

Este artículo echa un vistazo al ascenso del contenido visual y por qué 2014 será el año de los elementos visuales.

.

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What is Visual Language & How Comics Can Help Create It [graphic]

What is Visual Language & How Comics Can Help Create It [graphic] | Must Design | Scoop.it
Visual language Lab: Researching the structure and cognition of the visual language of comics

Marty
Visual Language Important For Internet Marketing
One undeniable trend is Lean Visual Marketing. We want videos and pictures and we want to understand complex ideas FAST. Scooplit is riding the crest of the lean visual marketing wave and exploding.

We know that there are some core ideas in this new "visual marketing revolution" including:

* Surprise helps but is had to create.
* Smashing expected visuals into unexpected can create surprise.
* Humor works.
* Arresting visuals only work once UNLESS aligned to their content.
* Without arresting visuals content marketing is doomed.
* The "visual language" of your marketing must be consistent with all other marketing or dissonance results.

I like the idea of studying comics to help achieve a sense of visual tone and for ways to connect images seamlessly with copy, tone ane theme.

Via Bucky Dodd
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2014 Marketing Trend: Smaller More Visual Messages, Bigger Impact [great #startups tip]

2014 Marketing Trend: Smaller More Visual Messages, Bigger Impact [great #startups tip] | Must Design | Scoop.it

The new word in content marketing is small. Increasingly, brands are marketing via short-form social media like Vine, Twitter, Instagram, Instagram video and the newer platform Snapchat--not by broadcasting their silly old messages but by treating their prospects and customers with respect, engaging with them directly through brief snippets of conversation, personality and humor.


But it's not just for fun: Consumers who engage with brands via social media demonstrate a deeper emotional commitment to those brands and spend 20 to 40 percent more than other customers, according to a report from Bain & Company.

 

Taco Bell has been killing it on Twitter, creating a hip, fun presence to turn customers into evangelists. Based in part on its snappy, very human interactions, the fast-food giant generated enough early buzz to make Doritos Locos Tacos its most successful product launch to date....


Via Jeff Domansky, luigi vico
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Great post for content-phobic startups. If sitting down and blogging daily is too much find alternatives for "little messaging" and do so more frequently and more visually (video, graphics). 


I'm a content and social marketer so would prefer to have both long form and short form content, but if creating the one is too intimidating create the other (short form) since some content marketing is always better than none.

Jeff Domansky's curator insight, November 25, 2013 11:47 AM

Ann Handley says increasingly, brands are marketing themselves via short-form social media.

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Latest Trends in Web Design [Infographic]

Latest Trends in Web Design [Infographic] | Must Design | Scoop.it
Infographic: Latest Trends in Web Design. Which web design trends have ruled the first quarter of 2013 and what you should be focusing on.
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Responsive To Visual
Excellent infographic summarizing current web design trends from responsive to larger images and more of them. I would add in @Scoopit's Lean Content Movement ( http://www.atlanticbt.com/blog/the-lean-content-movement/ ), but excellent summary of what is happening now.

Michael Wilkinson's curator insight, March 21, 2014 2:09 AM

Web design trends of 2013, can use a guide to keep website up to date with current trends and appeal to users.

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Create a Roku Channel in 5 Minutes Because VIDEO & CHANNELS = Future of Online Marketing

Create a Roku Channel in 5 Minutes Because VIDEO & CHANNELS = Future of Online Marketing | Must Design | Scoop.it

Ever have one of those light bulb moments. We had one tonight about the future of online marketing when we were able to get our Curagami YouTube channel on our "smart TV" thanks to our Roku box running an app.

You can seen our Curagami YouTube Channel here:
http://bit.ly/Curagami_YouTube

You can read the steps we took to get Curagami on TV here
https://plus.google.com/+MartinWSmith/posts/9P9Dw5pTdrL

Next stop is creating our own Roku Channel and learning more about how to segment and use YouTube. The link on this Scoop takes you to a post explaining how to create a Roku channel in 5 minutes. Roku is not full of blockbuster channels and how cool would it be to play in the same space as HBO and Amazon?

The price? Practically NOTHING now. Won't stay there for long, so get grandfathered in start your online marketing down the future's lane today.

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Responsive Web Design 101 - Learning The Basics

Responsive Web Design 101 - Learning The Basics | Must Design | Scoop.it

Responsive web design is the practice of creating websites that display evenly on all devices. Understand the basics of responsive web design with examples.

Marty Note
Don't make the common mistake of thinking responsive design is all about look and feel. Yes some WordPress templates can make it FEEL that way since they are built to accordian with different receptions created by phone, laptop and computers.

The important idea for marketers to understand is to THINK Mobile First. Thinking mobile first brings a slew of changes such as:

* Flat web design.
* Limited Colors.
* Less functionality that is easier to understand.
* Content snippets instead of novels.
* Emphasis on VISUAL MARKETING.
* Need to make content & communication feel & act like a game.

Those last bullets speak to the gamification of marketing so implied by smartphones and a mobile / social / connected world. Mobile means never having to say you're sorry because you listen and curate more than you talk, create sustaining community and engagement and understand all the implications of "the network is the computer".

Just shared an overview of Marketing Timelines on G+ (https://plus.google.com/102639884404823294558/posts/EkXN57uJyjq ). All that said, you still need to understand Responsive Design 101 so appreciate this Scoop.it suggestion from @David Fournier. .

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The Hottest Web Design Trends of 2014: Updated | JUST™ Creative

The Hottest Web Design Trends of 2014: Updated | JUST™ Creative | Must Design | Scoop.it

An updated look at the hottest best web design trends of 2014 including a showcase of modern web design inspiration.

Marty Note
This @justcreative post hit many nails on the head when it was initially published and Jacob's update of Helga Moreno's post doesn't disappoint either. Things I REALLY agree with:

See Less of (PLEASE):

* Stock photography (no photos? ASK your employees / followers for help but please no more Stepford people in pics on websites).
* Flash (has killed more #seo and sites than you can shake a stick at and fact it is still alive is amazing).
* Capcha - spam sucks but so do capcha forms.

More of PLEASE:

* Content First (implied in Responsive or Mobile First Design is a new way of thinking about, tagging and presenting content).
* Interactive Exploring (BIG AGREEMENT see my post about Time is Money Online https://plus.google.com/+MartinWSmith/posts/RdjAjWoJTHw and tag this next to #gamification).
* Arresting pictures and Video (YES, your great content will be ignored or under-shared UNLESS it is paired with strong visual hooks and supports).

Great post by Helga for Just Creative and so TRUE to our experience of web dev in 2014 for leading ecommerce clients such as Moon Audio.com.

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What is SEO? Content Tips For Graphic Designers - HOW Design & Scenttrail Note

What is SEO? Content Tips For Graphic Designers - HOW Design & Scenttrail Note | Must Design | Scoop.it

How strong is your content marketing strategy? What is SEO, anyway? Read 6 SEO tips and tricks to help you boost the visibility of your web content.

1. Strong Copy Trumps SEO.
2. Do Keyword Research.
3. Share Link Love (i.e. create great content).

Marty Note
Interesting to see how How Design explains SEO to graphic designers. I would take a slightly different tack. Let's reframe SEO in ways graphic designers can understand and adapt.

I create content daily and am learning SLOWLY how to make headlines sing and links flow in. As competition for links goes UP with the rising tide of content publishers are the right side of the bell curve where more than average links reside will learn a few tricks from graphic designers such as:

* ARRESTING Images.
* Demand hierarchy.
* Clear Calls To Action (CTAs).
* Headlines that GRAB and HOLD.

Content that doesn't get read doesn't help. The first rule of getting your content read is find an ARRESTING related image you won't get sued to use. Haiku Deck (http://www.haikudeck.com) is one of my favorite visual marketing tools. Need lawsuit free arresting images? Use Haiku Deck.

Demand Hierarchy is keeping demands on your visitors LOW. When I was a Director of Ecommerce we did extensive analysis of our 40+ homepage links and 5 mattered. Vicious 90%/10% rule in links. Key is to lower choice and eliminate the superfluous. 

CTAs don't have to be "buy now" anymore. We love asking a question with the link between the present page and the answer. Want To Be A Great Internet Marketer? Highlight and underline that sentence and it will get clicked because it is an IMPLIED CTA.

This doesn't mean we are above a good "Learn More", but too many "old style" CTAs can get boring and lose their punch.

Finally your HEADLINE or subheads matter. Headlines should set a hook. Subheads should organize the answer so readers can scan and skip sections. I try to live by the 7 word rule.

I read this rule about roadside billboards. Billboard creators limit their copy to 7 words because who can read more zipping buy at 60 mph. We all zip by at 100 mph on the web these days so short, punchy headlines that align with your arresting image and plant a hook work best.

We like KEYWORDS, Brands and questions in headlines too. Questions create curiosity. Keywords create scenttrail and brands create comfort and "like me" feelings of trust and security.


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Data Visualization = The New Infographic - Circos Circular Gets Your Inner Visual Geek On

Data Visualization = The New Infographic - Circos Circular Gets Your Inner Visual Geek On | Must Design | Scoop.it

How To Succeed Visually
Sorry all the low hanging fruit is long gone. If you want your website and marketing to stand out you are going to have to go high up on the tree or find another tree. Circular Data Visualization with Circos helps you create a new tree.

Yes there is some UI pain and some RETHINK pain, but that's good for several reasons:

* No Free Lunches Anymore - Everything Going To Be Painful Now.

* Learning Curve Protects The Niche WHEN You Get In.
* Like Going Down The Rabbit Hole & Pulling Cover Over As You Fall.

If you are a web designer looking for a way to REALLY rock your bosses world here's one way - tap your inner geek to create killer visual marketing. 

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How Beyonce Changed Product Design, Marketing & The World

How Beyonce Changed Product Design, Marketing & The World | Must Design | Scoop.it

Here is how Beyonce Explained her SURPRISE album:

Beyonce called the project a "visual album" and said "I see music."

"It's more than just what I hear," she said. "When I'm connected to something, I immediately see a visual or a series of images that are tied to a feeling or an emotion, a memory from my childhood, thoughts about life, my dreams or my fantasies. And they're all connected to the music."

Internet marketers and web designers should read Beyoncé’s note slowly since the visual marketing tsunami is impacting everything now as Beyonce proved.

How VISUAL is your content? How AWESOME? Up to Beyonce levels? When Beyonce introduced the album on Instragram with a single word image social media all but melted down. Here are stats from Jeff Bullas blog:


The tipping point?

With the evolution of the web there are some events that are small but significant. One of those happened on December 13, 2013. It was when Beyonce launched her latest album with an update on Instagram just captioned as “Surprise”

This broke convention.


Normally millions are spent on traditional media. Lady Gaga hyped her latest album by spending millions on bus advertising, billboards, 2 pop up stores and performed countless interviews. The result. She sold 305,000 copies in 2 weeks.


Beyonce, who has 8 million Instagram followers and over 53 million fans on Facebook decided to go straight to her fans. She decided to give the bus a miss. It was launched directly to iTunes and social media. She invoked the power of  ”World of Mouth”


The results:

* It sold 828,773 copies in 3 days

* Twitter reported 1.2 million Tweets in 12 hours

* It was the largest single week ever in the Apple iTunes store

* It was iTunes fastest selling album worldwide

Product developers, Internet, content and social media marketers need to understand the core TIPPING POINTS in the middle of Beyoncé’s results:

* Marketing is about the SOCIAL/VISUAL now.
* Rework creative if necessary to be more SOCIAL and VISUAL.

* Helps if you look like Beyonce.

* If YOU don't look like Beyonce, FIND SOMETHING that does!
* Weave SOCIAL and VISUAL into product development.

* Think about VISUALS as you go.
* Find visuals that work & double down.

* As for HELP as User Generated Content is GREAT if you don't look like Beyonce (They Might & Even If They Don't They Will Support).




Leon Murray's curator insight, December 11, 2016 9:21 PM
Beyonce was one of the 1st to release what some call a "surprise album" She broke the internet back in 2013 when she sold 828,773 copies in 3 days. Her album had the largest single week ever in the Apple iTunes store and It was iTunes fastest selling album worldwide.
Thomas Gaines's curator insight, December 15, 2016 9:53 AM
See it! Believe it! Achieve it!
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Web Design Trends 2014: Simple Long Pages & Interactive Infographics

Web Design Trends 2014: Simple Long Pages & Interactive Infographics | Must Design | Scoop.it

Web Design Trends 2014

* Simplicity.

* Long Pages.
* Interactive Infographics.

YES, YES, YES. These are 3 bedrock web design trends for 2014. Interactive Infographics are going to be a MONSTER trend. Infographics WORK add interactivity and the increased engagement it brings and WE HAVE A WINNER!

If you are a content marketer and you are NOT figuring out how to create interactive infographics next year even if you have to hire an agency to help (OUCH) you are nuts.

Fierce Traveler's curator insight, January 1, 2014 3:14 PM

Thankfully, after a year of building, I'm on track...but really? Infografic travel?

 

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BIG Simple Visual Storytelling In Motion Creating Lean Design Movement & Inspiration

BIG Simple Visual Storytelling In Motion Creating Lean Design Movement & Inspiration | Must Design | Scoop.it
Charlotte website design and marketing firm Fame Foundry is a trustcasting agency dedicated to helping businesses grow.
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Great post here may include in Lean Design book we are putting together. Can't afford to print al those beautiful pictures though, so be sure to read/look at these great inspiring examples.

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